THE BOOK OF ENOCH

; The 1883 Introduction to this work reminded readers that during "the second century of Christianity, we find Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria citing the Book of Enoch without questioning its sacred character. Thus, Irenaeus, assigning to the Book of Enoch an authenticity analogous to that of Mosaic literature, affirms that Enoch, although a man, filled the office of God's messenger to the angels. Tertullian, who flourished at the close of the first and beginning of the second century, whilst admitting that the "Scripture of Enoch" is not received by some because it is not included in the Hebrew Canon, speaks of the author as the "most ancient author, Enoch," and of the book as the divinely inspired autograph of that immortal patriarch, preserved by Noah in the ark, or miraculously reproduced by him through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Tertullian adds, 'But as Enoch has spoken in the same scripture of the Lord, and every scripture suitable for edification is divinely inspired,' let us reject nothing which belongs to us. These views Tertullian confirms by appealing to the testimony of the Apostle Jude. The Book of Enoch was therefore as sacred as the Psalms or Isaiah in the eyes of the famous theologian, upon whom modern orthodoxy relies as the chief canonist of New Testament Scripture." ; 5" x 8"; 180 pages; 9781930679603